Yes. So, rabies vaccines every year to prevent the transmission of rabies in our community, to our pets, and to our humans. The distemper vaccine is given as a baby in the series of three, then at one year, and then every three years. Again, we still want to protect these older cats from these upper respiratory infections. Occasionally you may bring a new cat into your home and these upper respiratory infections can affect your adult cats more severely than younger cats, so we want to keep them up to date as well.

The core vaccinations are rabies and then FVRCP, which is Feline Viral Rhinotracheitis, Calicivirus, and Panleukopenia. Those are considered core because your cat could still be exposed to these viruses, even if they are indoor only. So when I say core, every single cat that comes to our practice, it is recommended that they get those vaccines.

An example of a non-core vaccine is the feline Leukemia vaccine, so feline Leukemia is spread from cat to cat by bite wounds from other cats, so typically only cats that go outdoors and interact with other cats, or maybe have another cat in the household who's positive for feline Leukemia would be advised to get that vaccine. All cats are recommended to get it initially and at their one-year visit, but then we only continue if those cats have those risk factors.

As I said, rabies is required by law. The other vaccinations are not required by the state but may be required for boarding, grooming, coming in for a procedure at the vet clinics, so again, it can depend sometimes on lifestyle. The core vaccinations, however, are recommended for every single pet cat.

Yes. If we're recommending them, that's because we think they're necessary for your cat. The rabies vaccination is required by law for all of our domestic dogs, cats, and ferrets, and upper respiratory vaccines are necessary to keep your cat healthy. An additional vaccine may be necessary depending on your cat's lifestyle.